Often times people search far and wide to find the perfect veterinary professional to provide medical services for their animal family members. I have found that most people spend more time locating their veterinarian than their pediatrician! If you are wondering about my professional background, please click on the “Meet Dr. Becker” button on my home page. If you want to get to know me better as a person, continue reading!

I have included this section in my web page after my reception staff told me clients often ask them a lot of questions as they check out, “Does she have kids?, Does she always talk that fast?, What kind of pets does she have? How can a practice combine exotic animals, holistic medicine and wildlife?” I believe it’s important to learn about your doctor as a person, too, hence the addition of this section.

I am from Cedar Falls, Iowa. I grew up in a wonderful home and have two outstanding parents to whom I owe all the credit for who I am today.
 

Jim and Jeannine

My parents recognized at a very early age that there was a natural attraction between myself and animals (including worms, my mother tells me). They told me I could bring anything home that could fit through the front door, as long as I cleaned and fed it everyday. They had no idea what they were in for!

I began volunteering at a local humane society was I was 13 years old. It was a life changing experience and greatly influenced me in several areas. After tagging along with humane investigators to veal and chicken farms, I became a vegetarian. That spring, young orphaned wild animals began arriving and I was compelled to learn more about them. I became a subpermittee on a mentor’s federal wildlife rehabilitation permit. I learned to work hard. I cleaned more kennels than probably exist in this state, and established deep seated view points about the necessity of spaying, neutering and humane euthanasia. 

While I was working at the black hawk humane society, I progressed from wanting to be a zookeeper to wanting to be a vet. I became a state licensed wildlife rehabilitator when I was 16. I had a strong desire to care for all animals, both wild and domestic. I asked my local conservation officer, “If you could go to any college in the U.S. to learn the most about wildlife, where would you go?” The answer was immediate, “University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.”

Now is a good time to click on “Meet Dr. Becker” to fast forward to 1999. Of course, lots more life-changing events happened between now and then, but I don’t want this to be the longest section in my website! I must, however, add in a few important details. One frequent question how I was introduced to holistic medicine. In 1987 I met a wildlife rehabilitator from Wisconsin that had an amazing success rate with difficult cases. She used strictly homeopathic medicines on the wild animals in her care. She sent me home with a little homeopathic kit of my own and I too saw improved success with the animals in my care. I couldn’t even pronounce the word “homeopathy” correctly, yet I knew it was good and very helpful for the injured animals I was caring for. Years later, after completing the professional course in veterinary homeopathy, I learned how and why homeopathy works. But I didn’t need to know this information as a young person; it was successful, and that was good enough for me.

Of course, knowledge is contagious, and at some point I began repertorizing myself, my birds, my dad, my dog.  The results still continue to amaze me and you’ll often hear me comment around the clinic, “You gotta love homeopathy.”  You get those “gee wiz, oh my golly gosh” kind of results. I still use homeopathic medicine on all the wildlife in my care. And if I don’t say so myself, we have impressive, successful statistics. Oh my golly gosh.

A vital part of wildlife rehabilitation (besides fixing injured wild animals) is educating people about the important role of our native wildlife within our ecosystem. For people to respect wild creatures, they must learn about them. If they learn about them, they will care about them. If people care about them they will protect them. 

I maintain a permanently injured red tailed hawk for educational use. “Victory” (“Vic” for short), is a terrific wildlife ambassador who travels with me to educate school groups, clubs and communities about the vital role wild animals play in our environment. 

I also share my home with lots of other pets, all of whom have made their way to my home in one way or another. My home is full of wayward pets, except one. My husband always asks, “why can’t we have one healthy, nice, non-abused/neglected, ‘normal’ pet that has all of it’s legs and eyes?” Well thank you, Jason Crean!  (find him at www.beaksbirdhouse.com) After touring one of my clients’ aviaries, I was recently presented with a small present, a parrotlet. We love her!!!
 

Of course, I save the best pet story for last. I must say that the relationship I had with my first dog, Gemini, changed my life forever. My mother always told me that at the end of my life, if I was blessed, I would have a few true friends I could count on one hand. After spending half of my life on this great earth I have come to realize that she was absolutely right. I now have over 7200 active clients, many acquaintances, several office buddies, a few social couples and 4 best friends.

Why so few friends? I think of a friend as someone you love no matter what. Someone you can be completely natural with, someone who can see you at your worst and still love you. With a true friend love is unconditional, regardless of the circumstance or situation. I believe acquaintances come and go as you move through the seasons of life, but friends become legacies. True friends make such an impact on you as a person that they continue to influence your life even after they have died.

These friends, like little drops of rain that fall into the sea of our lives, can on occasion, make such big life-changing ripples that it’s hard to believe you could be so blessed! I have been blessed, and I want to share one ripple with you. My first true friend in this world was my dog. She had great life lessons to teach me during her time here with me. She spent four years by my desk at vet school. She had every acupuncture point on her body poked, re-poked and poked again as I learned, through trial and error, which needling technique was painless and painful. She taught me what “bowel tolerance” meant when I was learning about the benefits of vitamin C. She was my traveling companion, my guardian, my comforter, my stress relief. Through her I learned the priceless role of good nutrition in a pet’s life.

As a veterinarian, I assist hundreds of pets in dying each year. It is an inevitable part of my job. In providing this service, I have had the opportunity to talk about people’s relationships with their pets and have found that the role of the pet within the family can be very diverse.  My conclusions could probably fill a novel but in a nutshell, I firmly believe that not every pet owner experiences true friendship with their pet. Of course they love their pet. Yes, they will miss their pet after he or she is gone, but then it’s off to the pet store to get another one and life goes on. Pets are enjoyed and are a fulfilling part of their life, but not life-changing.

Having been blessed with true friendship with my dog, I believe this bond can go much deeper than what is traditionally thought of as “pet owner” and “pet”. I’m not saying what I have experienced is unique to the world, but I do believe it is rare and very special. I have met other people that have been touched by that one special, life changing animal. Life is never the same.  I believe some people go through life never having the opportunity to be enlightened by a wonderful pet. I was blessed to have been given a dog that allowed me to grow as a person and as a veterinarian. She has had a part in shaping who I am today.

Getting back to my early twenties, the zookeeper notion was still burning in the back of my mind. I finally got it out of my system working under the head veterinarian, Dr. Reinhart Goltenboth, at the Berlin Zoo, Germany. It was a phenomenal experience. Need I say more? To satisfy my diverse animal interests I knew at this point I would have to somehow find a veterinary practice that allowed me combine all of my loves: dogs, birds, hawks, lizards, frogs, turtles, cats and opossums. Hmmmm….

I tried to do all of the above as an associate veterinarian in a large metropolitan practice. As you could imagine, it didn’t work.  I would obviously have to be my own boss, and Natural Pet Animal Hospital was born. A separate wildlife and small animal ward, neonatal avian incubators, reptile enclosures, candles, a full traditional pharmacy, a full homeopathic, western and eastern herbal pharmacy, a surgical and radiology suite. There. Perfect. Well, almost. I was happy and doing what I knew I was put on this earth to do. Could there be more?

In 2001, I married my soul mate. He brings a quiet, caring peace and balance to my life. I now have a wonderful source of eternal joy and unconditional love and support. He brought with him two pearls of goodness, Jimmy and Danielle. Danielle nurtures every creature that passes through Natural Pet. She will be an outstanding vet someday. Jimmy, like his dad, wants to help get things done. He always lends a helping hand whenever needed.

Dave is outstanding help at the clinic. From single handedly tube feeding great horned owls, designing state-of-the-art flight cages, computerizing the hospital or producing a newsletter, he’s able to do about anything with a wonderful attitude and demeanor. He also prepares outstanding vegetarian cuisine for me every night (he is still classified as a carnivore) and makes sure everyone’s kept abreast of tomorrow’s agenda. My husband is a true gift.   Unlike my husband, my hobby is my job. Everything in my life revolves around animals.  Dave’s hobby is a little out there. I mean, really “out there.”

Our lives are busy. Anything less than a 14 hour day is considered a mini-vacation in our house. Because I donate services to local humane organizations, rehabilitate over 250 animals a year, lecture 1-2 weekends a month and try to have an hour of personal time a day, the time I set aside to see Natural Pet clients is from 9-5pm. Usually around 6:00pm we have “lunch,” then  I return phone calls that have collected during the day. Around 8:00pm we clean and feed all the wildlife and go home usually between 9-10pm.

My husband races motocross almost every weekend, so Saturday mornings are spent cleaning and feeding, Saturday evenings I watch Dave fly through the air, 40 feet above me on his motorcycle. Being a spectator of this nerve-racking sport allows me to practice deep breathing exercises and I work on my posture, on the edge of my seat. That’s all I have to say about that. Sunday we go to church, then spend our afternoons taking leisurely walks with our pack.